Lady Eagles place eighth in Rattler Invitational

By Madison Hagood on February 17, 2016

After unofficially winning the Heartland Conference crown last year, the Oklahoma Christian University women’s golf team opened its spring season with an eighth place finish at the St. Mary University’s Rattler Invite on Monday and Tuesday.

At the end of the first round of the tournament, the Lady Eagles sat in fifth place with a score of 320. India Matthews led the team, shooting a 75. Allison Sell and Audrey Meisch trailed close behind, with a 78 and 81, respectively. Freshmen Elizabeth Freeman and Kate Goodwin also contributed to the effort, shooting 86 and 88.

“We are capable of playing much better than we did, but it got us off to a decent start,” Meisch said. “I definitely have some lofty goals for myself this semester since it’s my final one to compete.”

During the second round, the Lady Eagles combined a score of 331 for an overall tournament score of 651. Matthews finished the tournament with a 155, Meisch with a 163 and Freeman with a 166. Sell and Goodwin shot 168 and 177.

The Lady Eagles finished two strokes behind St. Edward’s University and four strokes behind Southwestern Oklahoma State University.

Meisch, the Lady Eagle’s lone senior, is currently ranked sixth nationally, averaging a score of 74. According to the Golfstat rankings, three Heartland Conference teams are ranked in the top 25 in Division II and six of the top-10 averages entering the spring belong to golfers in the Lady Eagle’s conference.

“We definitely want to go back to conference and win again,” Meisch said. “We have the ability to do so, but we need to execute when it counts.”

The Lady Eagles will take the course again at the Diffie Ford-Lincoln Invitational in Edmond on March 7-8.

Statistics provided by the Oklahoma Christian University Sports Information office.